FYI Duracell Daylight 3AA Headlamp at costco for $13 vs $30 everywhere else :)

[mrk442]

Picked up one of Duracell's headlamps its actually quite nice for $13 i would have passed probably if it was the full price but thats just because i am cheep



http://www.duracell.com/en-US/product/daylite-headlamp-3aa.jspx



It has the bands around the head and over the top with the 3AA holder in the back so balance is actually quite nice.



As for which emitter is in this fella no idea I might try and upgrade it someday just for kicks but for now it is more then bright enough for my needs. Package says 80 lumen and I actually believe it i was surprised how bright it really is! for average headlamp usage its just about right. bright enough to illuminating across the street comfortably but not to bright as to make close in work uncomfortable.



No modes no flashing.



It has a red LED on the battery pack which could be nice if your walking or riding in the dark.



Great little light and i am never really all that happy with normal store bought light its just well made and well designed imho optics are ehh but beam is good enough for my needs



I was pleasantly surprised with this light for the price i figured someone might like to know about it!




I can give a real review if anyone is intrested or wants specific info!



Thanks,

Matt

 

[cccpull]

Sure. A review is always appreciated. When you say it has "no modes", you mean it only turns on and off? Also, how well(or not) does the focusing work? Thanks.

 

[Bolster]

I'm really interested to know how wide the beam goes. Many times on inexpensive lights the "flood" option is badly misrepresented and quite narrow. But maybe this one is a true flood. If possible would you mind measuring (1) diameter of beam on a wall and (2) your distance from the light to the wall when you measured it? Then I can trig the angles. Thanks for the head's up!

 

[robostudent5000]

I'm really interested to know how wide the beam goes. Many times on inexpensive lights the "flood" option is badly misrepresented and quite narrow. But maybe this one is a true flood. If possible would you mind measuring (1) diameter of beam on a wall and (2) your distance from the light to the wall when you measured it? Then I can trig the angles. Thanks for the head's up!

picked one up today.

i calculated the beam angle at 30 degrees for the "flood" so it's not much of a flood. it's a very wide, diffuse spot.

overall, to echo the OP's sentiment, it's not bad at all for $13+tax. output on three Eneloops isn't the claimed 80 lumens IMO, but close enough. the beam is ringy along the outer edges, but when tuned to flood, is smooth inside the 30 degree hotspot with a very mild donuthole. the donuthole goes away if you tune it down to about 20 degrees. the beam tint looks pure white. it only has one mode and the switch is on the battery pack. the battery pack closes with a screw and has an o-ring, so it should at least be splash resistant.

the headband brackets are made of flexible material that feels like silicone, and the forehead pad is padded with closed cell foam. it weighs a hefty 7.4 oz fully loaded, but is still comfortable to wear. the tilter only has three positions - straight, 22 degrees, and 45 degrees - but is the nicest feeling tilter i've tried on a headlamp. it moves into place with a soft click like the a/c knobs on a luxury car.

the head is all aluminum and looks like it'll be hard to take apart. this is kind of a bummer for me since i bought the light to turn it into a mule and it looks like i won't be able to do that easily. if i can't, this will probably become my main backyard work light. next time i need to clear a fallen branch or unclog my sewer line at night, i'll be whipping out this baby and saving my Eos some wear and tear.

did a rough runtime test using fresh Eneloops. output was steady for about 4.5 hours before declining rapidly.

 

[Bolster]

i calculated the beam angle at 30 degrees for the "flood" so it's not much of a flood. it's a very wide, diffuse spot.

Not surprised. Seems most sub $50 lights billed as "floody" are in the narrow 30 degree range. This perplexes me. It's not expensive to make a light floody. I wish I could find an inexpensive 60-degree (or more) beam headlamp. To my knowledge there is no such animal.

I have noticed other Energizers have good white beams, too.

Thanks for the review.

 

[robostudent5000]

success!

disassembly wasn't as hard as i'd thought it would be. the bezel is glued on, but twisted off w/o using any tools. it took some effort, but it came off pretty clean. those black strips in the middle of the photo are the glue shards that came off of the threads. after that, the rest was straight forward. the back plate came off by undoing 6 phillips screws. the emitter is a Seoul attached to an aluminum plate via a thermal pad. there are o-rings on everything. the driver is in the battery case with the switch assembly. the head just contains the led so gluing in a new led should be fairly easy. not bad at all for $13.
(dead pic link removed)

Edit: the lens sits directly on the reflector, so i might need a larger lens or need to epoxy the lens to the bezel to make the mod work...
Edit 2: pics of completed mod here.